Supervisors Consider Placer Vineyards Specific Plan Amendments

February 10, 2012

The Placer County Board of Supervisors will be asked Tuesday to consider modifications to the Placer Vineyards Specific Plan (Plan), a document that provides direction for development of 5,230 acres in Western Placer County. The Plan was approved in July 2007 and allows for a mix of residential, commercial retail, office, mixed-use and public facilities.

The modifications being sought are:

An amendment to Placer Vineyards Specific Plan;

Amended and Restated Developer Agreements; and

An Addendum to the previously certified Environment Impact Report.

The changes being sought by the development applicant would allow for phasing of the project and the construction of infrastructure, rather than requiring that infrastructure be fully constructed at the same time as the initial development. The Plan, and 22 separate, but identical Development Agreements, one for each of the participating developers, identify public infrastructure needed for the development and mechanisms to ensure the facilities would be in place as needed. The Plan identifies the “Core Backbone Infrastructure,” which includes major roads, trails, water, wastewater, recycled water and dry utilities.

Under the proposed revisions, developers of individual projects within the overall plan could submit applications for approval of phased development. The developers would need to show that infrastructure improvements were adequate to accommodate the proposed phase. The revisions specify that an individual developer’s right to obtain project approvals would be contingent on that developer paying its share of costs associated with infrastructure and services.

The proposed revisions would not alter any conclusion of the environmental document regarding the significance of environmental impacts.

In September of last year, the project revisions were brought before the Western Placer Municipal Advisory Council. The Council recommended approval of the Plan’s modification to the Placer County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.

Later that September, the project revisions were brought before the Planning Commission, which recommended approval of the three modifications being sought.

The item will be heard by the Board of Supervisors at its meeting on Tue., Feb 14, 2012 at 10 a.m. in Board Chamber, 175 Fulweiler Ave., Auburn.